The next steps include more work on key details
at the Paris-based Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development and then a final
decision at the Group of 20 meeting of presidents
and prime ministers on Oct. 30-31 in Rome.
Implementation, expected as early as 2023,
would depend on action at the national level.
Countries would enact the minimum tax
requirement into their own laws. Other parts
could require a formal treaty. The draft proposal
was approved July 1 in talks among more than
130 countries convened by the OECD.
Italy hosted the finance minister’s meeting in
Venice because it holds the rotating chair of the
G-20, which makes up more than 80% of the
world economy. The event also attracted around
1,000 protesters under the banner “We Are The
Tide,” an umbrella group of environmental and
social justice activists, including opponents of
large cruise ships and the hordes of tourists
they bring to the lagoon city. A small group
scuffled with police after breaking away from an
approved demonstration area.
The U.S. already has a minimum tax on overseas
earnings, but President Joe Biden has proposed
roughly doubling the rate to 21%, which would
more than comply with the proposed global
minimum. Raising the rate is part of a broader
proposal to fund Biden’s jobs and infrastructure
plan by raising the domestic corporate tax rate
to 28% from 21%.
Yellen said she was “very optimistic” that Biden’s
infrastructure and tax legislation “will include
what we need for the United States to come into
compliance” with the minimum tax proposal.